The media hype around Russia’s alleged sale of S-300 missiles to Syria is still mounting, with UK press claiming Moscow shelved its agreement with Damascus because of a “deal” with Tel Aviv. Israeli media has shrugged off the report as “a fairy-tale.”
The Sunday Times claimed that Russia agreed not to supply the S-300 long-range surface-to-air missiles under a contract with Syria after a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week.
The newspaper said the two leaders struck a secret deal in which Russia cancels the delivery of the advanced hardware to Syria and Israel refrains from committing further airstrikes in the war-torn country. The report cited an anonymous senior Russian official as its source who quoted “the large Russian community in Israel” as “a major factor in our attitude to Israel”.
Russia maintains that current arms sales to Syria are conducted under existing contracts, many of which are Soviet-era, that the weapons sold are for missile defence, and that no new deals are planned after the contracts are completed.
